Craig Kostelecky

Some guys made a back story for the Joker as he was portrayed in The Dark Knight. I thought it was a pretty interesting take. It's an R rated movie made for $3,000 that does a decent job of showing how a regular guy became the Joker.

Here's my thoughts:Giving the Joker a back story at all is almost a bad thing as the mystery adds to his character. But I think they could very easily change one small thing to fix that. At the final voice over, he could simply say, "At least that's how I think it happened." Then they could do another movie that gives a totally different story, and even give him a totally different name. Make it seem like the Joker is so far gone from reality that he doesn't even remember where he came from. I think the tear at the end was a big mistake. By that point the Joker should not feel that way.

I also didn't like how every character was tied to an established Batman character. The mob boss shouldn't have been the Penguin, the girl shouldn't have been Harley Quinn, etc. I did think Croc was used well though.

Those are my major complaints. When you factor in that this was a really low budget movie, I think it's done really well. I'm interested to see what they change (if anything) for the final version. They said they want to do a trilogy of these. I also thought the actor who played Cyrus/The Joker captured the basic essence of Heath Ledger's character. Especially since he's not a known/veteran actor.

Joseph Cooke

I both do and don't like Joker origin stories. I like them if they are just theories on Joker's beginning rather than stories that are set in stone. The mystery of how he came to be is one of his biggest appeals.

The idea that I didn't like in this fan made movie is that pre-Joker is a criminal/mobster. I suppose he has to have background that explains his shooting and fighting abilities for when he becomes Joker, but I remember hearing something about TDKR Joker possibly being a former soldier with PTSD. Being an ex soldier would explain how he can acquire military grade weapons and use them with ease.

I much prefer the idea that he has not had any sort of violent past (either by criminality or the military) but that he was just an ordinary guy who had a really bad day (More so the Joker from the comics).

As for the movie. Done well enough. I know you, Craig, said you didn't like they way most characters were tied to an established Batman character, but I myself appreciate what they were trying to do in the sense of how the Dark Knight Trilogy tried to make realistic versions of their heroes/villains.

Cult Of Personality

I thought that was very well made, especially for a fan made movie. I watched it from start to finish.

I thought they could've handled the transition into The Joker a little better. I would've prefered Cyrus becoming the The Joker himself as opposed to having the cuts done by Croc. I also wish Cyrus came up with "Why so serious" and "Let's put a smile on that face" as opposed to others being the first to save it. I probably would've had Cyrus pick the lock on his chain and take out that one guard then sit Croc in the chair. At this point he'll take a glance over to the deceased Harley, whom I thought was pretty good in this, and then we'll see him just "split". I'd then have Cyrus himself cut the "smile" so we can truly see him go insane. As the OP mentioned, I thought the tear at the end wasn't needed because Cyrus is long gone by then. I could say more but it would just my opinion and I appreciate the creators own ideas and direction.

Chukkles

Heath Ledger/Christopher Nolans Joker is not supposed to have a back story, infact they make that entire point in the movie.
Wanna Know How I Got These Scars???
None of the stories are true and you are not supposed to understand how he become so psychotic, it's what makes him scary.